Need some help with my detector-Silver Umax

[pyledriver]

I have a 6mo old Silver Umax that has been out on appx. 6 outings. This is my first detector! I don't think it has any problems, but wonder if it's normal to hear a beep when adjusting the discrimination knob? I've experimented with the coil being as far away as possible from any metal, and it still does it. It's no big deal, the detector does detect metal.. It really seems to like iron! I can discriminate small iron out, but big nails sometimes can't discriminate out? Still, it detects metal. One day I'll find some actual GOOD metal..LOL!

So my schedule is extremely busy and I decided to try some night detecting <insert mission impossible music here>. I went to a 'tot lot' near my house figuring on finding maybe a coin or two. I got around 7 hits at various points in the lot and once was a bottle cap, once was foil. All the other hits were on something I couldn't see! The common theme is that about 6-8" down is pea gravel that was the old playground base. I would dig, sweep, dig, sweep, and when the sweep told me nothing was in the hole (every time around 7" having been dug), I'd sweep the dirt and have a hit, then sift the dirt in my hands in front of the coil. Most times the detector would go off when I had a large clump in my hand, but then the signal would disappear as I filtered the dirt finer and finer-well past the point I should've found a coin or ring. One thing to note is that it has rained a lot here but we haven't had any rain today. Our soil is black gumbo clay (n. Texas), so what little I know of mineralization makes me think that wouldn't be a concern.

So what the heck was sounding off? I've heard of 'hot rocks' in the nugget shooting forum..but would a) this be a possibility in the pea gravel or b) my Umax be able to sniff that kind of thing out. Also, if it were the gravel, it seems there would at least have been a chunk left in my hand..but got NADA. I was careful to keep my watch hand away from the coil, and tried to keep my body away from the detector because of keys in my pocket. The only thing that I can think of that might've been an issue was my cell phone was not turned off, but have only recently found out about that concern. I've had it on me every other time and found all those cool nails anyway..

I am a total noob here, so I could just be falling victim to some simple quirk of detecting that others are well aware of..so help me out!

 

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[Keppy]

I never had a silver but i have had my detectors sound off in gravel and then could not find a target......Jim

 

[pyledriver]

Thanks Jim! I was talking to a buddy who told me that pea gravel is notorious for that phenomenon. If we don't get too much rain this weekend I'll go out and try again!

 

[TORRERO]

Sometimes in this gravel you get small clumps of metalic stuff, not rocks but you said you were hunting at night, these look like the gravel, but you have to pick each piece out and scan it over the coil.
I've used Tesoros before and don't believe that "Hot Rocks" will give you a very good signal, and none at
all if you have ground balanced the machine correctly for the location.

 

[pyledriver]

OK, I really need to understand the definition of 'hot rock' a little better, but I do feel based on feedback that the gravel is the key to the issue. Amazingly few hits at that place... I'll try a different one tomorrow!

 

[Keppy]

Sometimes in this gravel you get small clumps of metalic stuff, not rocks but you said you were hunting at night, these look like the gravel, but you have to pick each piece out and scan it over the coil.
I've used Tesoros before and don't believe that "Hot Rocks" will give you a very good signal, and none at
all if you have ground balanced the machine correctly for the location.

The Silver is auto ground balance..............Jim

 

[TORRERO]

Well, SOMETHING is causing your machine to beep off, take a handfull of gravel and swing it over
the coil, removing some every time, until you find what is causing this...
If its hot rocks, and your in a lot of gravel, why so few hits ?
all the gravel came from the same place, it all would be "HOT"
No, I think there is some small target that is triggering this beep.
you will have to sift the rocks until you get one of them that's the culpret, or some small piece of
metal that is causing it.

 

[pyledriver]

Can't say about that. The gravel is all under at least 7-8" of clay. It could be possible that in some places it's deeper and my detector just wasn't picking it up I guess. In general, as I worked that dirt and gravel through my fingers, I was looking pretty hard for a glint or something recognizable by shape. I did have my headlamp on, and it's no slouch in the light department! At this point I'm not going to worry myself too much more about it! There are other detectorists that hit that spot, so that could be why I had so few hits and nothing of any real interest. Just when you thought you were alone....

 

[pennyfarmer]

Here is some of my observations.

When I hunted with a Tesoro Bandito II I had problems with hot rocks. I am not sure why they are hot (Iron I guess) but they seem to float around your hole. First its here then its there, oh so frustrating.

Your other issue might be the fact that your sensitivity might be too high for the area you are hunting. This would make it more prone to falsing on hot rocks and ground mineralization.

I am not sure about your problem with receiving a beep when you adjust the discrimination but if you make adjustments quickly that could cause a signal.

My only other advice would be to get an electronic pinpointer. It will save you time and headache.

 

[EasyMoney]

I wrote a longer comment but somehow it didn't go through...

If your detector makes noise on pea gravel or aggregate or conglomerate rock - then your auto ground balance may be off, especially since it makes noise while turning the discrimination knob. It may need to be sent back to Tesoro for recalibration along with a sample of your soil AND the pea gravel.

Hope this helps.

EasyMoney

 

[gary in idaho]

Hi, I had the same problem with a new Compadre, when you turned the disc knob it sounded off like the battery test. I sent it in and they replaced the pot and recalibrated and now it works better than ever!

 

[pyledriver]

Hmm.. Maybe I'll call them to be sure! Sucks being a noob sometimes and not knowing more.